ONE DEGREE OF SEPARATION

In the last post but one, I discussed the the Agatha Christie play And Then There Were None currently playing in Perth. One of the best performances in the play is by Nicholas Hammond. You may remember Nicholas as the 14 yeard old Friedrich von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Susan and I, with theatre loving friends Barry and Gabrielle, caught up with Nicholas for lunch. He's a charming man, now 75 years old, mentoring the young people in his cast, and still enjoying the thrill of the stage. 

Gabrielle and Barry told stories of when they'd first seen The Sound of Music. In one case, a whole Catholic primary school plus nuns pouring onto buses for an excursion. In another, a special trip to a nearby country town. I remember having the music at home as well as a record and learning all the songs. And it's still a film that captures a new generation. Sebastian, my nephew, claims to have watched it a dozen times in his youth.

Nicholas is heading back to Europe for the film's 60th anniversary in Salzburg later in the year. He told us that in the original Germany release, the film stopped at the wedding scenebecause they didn't want to much of the Nazi story to be told. Even filming was challenging when they needed to hang Nazi banners and flags in the street as background because the community didn't want to be reminded of the dark days.

A delightful lunch with good friends and a revered performer. 


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